This paper discusses the geographical location of ***** mentioned in Hammamat
Inscription No. 1, according to Couyat and Montet. This inscription was created by Sankh
in commemoration of his expedition to the Eastern Desert and the Red Sea Coast during the
reign of Mentuhotep IV.
The toponym is problematic due to its complete absence from all ancient Egyptian texts.
This made scientists disagree about its geographical location; some located it in Quseir, while
others placed it on the River Nile, or in the Eastern Desert. This matter has been a mystery,
and the toponym remained unknown without a specific identity, which made some scientists
leave it without certain specifications, and this, in turn, added more mystery to the inscription,
and led a number of scientists to minimize its value. Therefore, the researcher has decided to
confront this problem, especially after the recent archaeological discoveries on the Red Sea
Coast in general, and the port of ***** (Mersa Gawasis) in particular.
According to the writer, these recent discoveries may define ***** as Mersa
Gawasis (this conforms with the nature of Sankh’s expedition in light of other inscriptions
and according to the linguistic comparisons between these two toponyms). The inscription,
thus, becomes very important as it proves—for the first time in the ancient Egyptian sources—
that there were some activities attributed to Mentuhotep IV on the Red Sea Coast and Mersa
Gawasis, which provides a new historical and cultural dimension to the policy of this king, and
increases the value of the inscription. (please note that this article is in Arabic)